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Nebelwerfer 41
|prereq = |production_struc = Sturm Armory |reinforce_cost = |health = |infantry_type = Infantry |weapon = 1x 150mm Nebelwerfer |num_slots = |speed = 3 m/s |num_products = |produces = |num_abilities = 1 |abilities = Nebelwerfer Barrage * Barrage an area with six 150mm incendiary Nebelwerfer rockets that can cause burn damage to infantry and structures. * Costs nothing * Recharge 90 seconds |num_upgrades = |upgrades = }} The Nebelwerfer is an Axis Weapon Team used by the Wehrmacht, featured in Company of Heroes. Overview The Nebelwerfer 41 (English: Fog thrower) is a mobile artillery platform used by the Wehrmacht during World War II. It is a light Rocket Artillery piece, firing High-Explosive rockets at enemy positions (in-game it ahistorically uses Incendiary rockets instead). In-game, the Nebelwerfer is a support weapon, with a 3-man crew- two men carrying, aiming, and reloading the weapon, and an Unteroffizer armed with a pistol. If one of the weapon operators is killed, the Unteroffizer will take his place. If two crew members are killed, the third will automatically die as well unless an existing reinforcement is about to complete, and the weapon will become unmanned. After the crew's death, it can be re-crewed by any Infantry squad with at least two members. The weapon itself is operated very much like an Anti-Tank gun- it is hauled into position by its operators, before being deployed (which takes a second). The weapon has a large, but not total, "cone of fire", allowing it to turn drastically horizontally, though requires repositioning to be fired behind where it's facing. Picking up the weapon is also a relatively fast process. When the weapon is ordered to fire, the weapon fires six rockets at the targeted area (aimed vertically as to fall on the target) at a rate of about a rocket per second. The rockets "disappear" once fired, meaning as soon as they go off screen the first time, they're no longer effected by obstructions. After a short travel time effected by distance, they fall on the target, dealing major damage to Infantry and Buildings- especially unarmored buildings like the Machine Gun Emplacement, Observation Post, or garrisoned neutral buildings. The rockets have a high chance of killing whatever they hit directly, and leave the ground burning for a few seconds afterwards, damaging unarmored units. These rockets are fully capable of Friendly Fire as well. When fired, the Rockets will leave a distinctive smoke trail and the process will produce a loud sound which led Allied troops in the war to dub it the "Screaming Mimi". As a result, the Nebelwerfer is not a weapon of subtlety. It will even appear in the Fog of War when fired. Note that, contrary to what logic would dictate, the Barrage ability reloads even when the unit is on the move. Also note that the Rockets has a slightly higher chance to be accurate when the target is within vision. Strategy The Nebelwerfer in use should be considered as almost a heavier version of the Mortar, trading the ability to do consistent damage and passave overwatch for a much more deadly payload. As such, it is best used against static targets, especially in terms of defenses. Buildings and Emplacements should be the first priority for any Nebelwerfer- not only will a barrage from this weapon do considerable damage to any building it hits, the residual burn damage will not only do even more damage but ensure that builder units attempting to repair the building will be forced to either wait or risk meeting their own fiery death. This is especially true for the three British emplacements- the Howitzer, 17 Pounder, and Bofors, which take high damage from the Nebelwerfer and, outside of the Howitzer (which isn't able to fire back nearly as often without use of Counter-Battery from Royal Artillery), are unable to respond. Garrisoned buildings should be the weapon's second priority- while no longer able to instantly kill any unit inside since a bugfix, Infantry inside will still take considerable damage from both impact and burn, and prolonged barrages will quickly bring any neutral building down outright- useful for a building armed to the teeth with MGs and Bazookas or Recoilless Rifles. Finally, but perhaps most commonly, the Nebelwerfer shines against enemy Support Weapons. While a Nebelwerfer Barrage is unlikely to outright hit a Support Weapon, and in fact, most are able to move out of the way in time for the barrage, an enemy will be most likely forced to reposition or retreat outright to avoid the fury of a rocket barrage, giving your units some time to operate before the enemy weapons can return to an area. While a Nebelwerfer can hit Infantry and light vehicles on the move, it is highly unlikely to do so without impeccable prediction skills or high amounts of luck. As such, prefer Mortar Fire with a suppressing weapon for this occasion- though a particularly predictable enemy can be punished with Rockets. Tips *Barrage, Barrage, Barrage- the Nebelwerfer's ability has absolutely no cost besides the time it takes you to switch to the unit and aim. As such, unless you have a very good reason not to, you should use the ability literally every time it's available. *Firing on a point an enemy is about to capture is even more effective than doing so with a Mortar, though the enemy is far more likely to run away (and the shots more likely to miss to boot). Still, on a High point in particular, this is still an idea with merit. *While enemies can see the Nebelwerfer firing, it's a lot more difficult to tell exactly what it's firing at compared to most artillery pieces. You can often use this fact to add a much-needed element of surprise to this other wise non-subtle piece. *Concentrate fire as much as possible when you have multiple Nebelwerfers- 6 rockets might all miss the priority target, but 12 will almost certainly not. *Positioning of a Nebelwerfer is important- keep them far enough behind the lines to stay out of danger of assault, but close enough that travel time is lower and accuracy is higher. *NEVER fire this weapon at a place Infantry are about to assault- the inaccurate, high-powered rockets are notorious for friendly fire. *If you have a unit that is able to do so, it might not be a bad idea to deliberately de- and re-crew a Nebelwerfer in a safe place, as not only will a new crew be able to protect itself slightly more effectively, in almost any case, they will actually take up less Population Cap than the original crew. *Spot your targets with cloaked Snipers or recon vehicles- the rockets will be more accurate, and you won't ever waste a barrage firing where you mistakenly thought enemies were. *A Halftrack with rockets is a great compliment to any Nebelwerfer- able to reinforce the Nebelwerfer if it comes under attack, any unit that would recrew the weapon, and adding to the potency of the barrage. Veterancy The Nebelwerfer gains veterancy through researching Support Team Upgrades in the Kampfkraft Center. These updates apply to existing and newly created Nebelwerfer teams. If the weapon is recrewed, the new crew will use these benefits. While the actual statistical buffs to the crew from Veterancy do next to nothing, a maximum of 30 seconds shaved off of the Nebelwerfer's reload time makes this weapon instantly more valuable. Support Weapon veterancy for the Wehrmacht is almost always valuable and the Nebelwerfer's upgrades are no exception to this rule. Weaknesses The Nebelwerfer is an Artillery piece and should not be expected to do anything in direct combat situations- if an enemy unit is firing upon a Nebelwerfer crew, the chances are better than not that the crew is already doomed. The basic crew's only direct method of defense is a single pistol, which is unable to even scare the weakest Allied units away- to make matters worse, all of the crew members are weak, falling quickly when fired upon. As expected with a weapon crewed by Infantry, the unit is particularly weak to fire and Snipers- with enemy Snipers being able to completely silence a Nebelwerfer in only two shots, often meaning that if the first shot lands while the weapon is firing, the crew will die before the barrage is completed. Mortar Fire is also a nuisance, if the Nebelwerfer is unable to respond in kind- and while the weapon is too small for enemy heavy artillery units to deal with accurately, Counter Battery fire will almost always kill off a Nebelwerfer crew. Off-map artillery will do the same. The Nebelwerfer is one of the worst units against enemy armor in the entire game, as there is no possible way the unit can have any sort of Anti-Tank power in the base game- it cannot even have its 3rd crewman carry a Anti-Tank weapon, as little help as that would be. The Rockets are almost never going to hit an enemy vehicle, and even when they do, they will, at most, just do engine damage without actually harming the vehicle. Only the very lightest vehicles, the least likely to take a hit, will actually take any damage from this unit. Finally, the Nebelwerfer can easily be put into a situation where the weapon itself is of no tactical value- against an enemy unit fielding mobile defenses and able to keep Axis units too far away from their buildings to fire upon them, the weapon has absolutely no value whatsoever. This is a particularly big problem considering that it builds in a building containing the extremely high priority StuG IV and drains 5 population cap with the base crew- a bad Nebelwerfer investment can be a major game-ruining mistake. Quotes On unit creation : On unit selection : On move order : On move order under attack : On barrage order : On barrage order under attack : On casualty report : Other: Gallery Nebelwerfer 02.jpg|Nebelwerfers firing. Nebelwerfer Cross Holder.jpg|A Nebelwerfer crewed by Knight's Cross Holders. Category:Weapon Teams Category:Wehrmacht Units Category:Artillery